Victory Beer co-founder to present lecture at Chadds Ford Historical Society
Bill Covaleski (right), co-founder of Victory Brewing Company, is shown with co-founder Ron Barchet. The two have been friends since meeting on the school bus in fifth grade.
Anyone with a thirst for beer knowledge – especially the Hollywood-style saga of the acclaimed Victory Brewing Company – should reserve a spot at a Feb. 26 lecture at the Chadds Ford Historical Society.
The speaker for next week’s 2013 Spring Lecture Series will be Victory’s co-founder, Bill Covaleski, whose rise to fame in the world of hops started in 1973 when he was in fifth grade and met Ron Barchet , his future partner, on a school bus. Even though they went to college on opposite coasts, the friendship endured and later even survived some competitive experimentation with home-brewing.
That hobby eventually led to Victory Brewing Company, which opened in 1996, producing 1,725 barrels the first year. Since then, its output has exploded. According to the company’s web site, the business produced 58,850 barrels of beer in 2010. That amount filled 19,520,545, 12-ounce bottles, enough to stretch from the company’s Downingtown brewery to Seattle if laid end to end, the web site said.
Covaleski will discuss the history of American brewing, and some of his favorite Victory creations will be available for tasting. Admission is $10, free for members of the Historical Society. To reserve a seat, call 610-388-7376. The lecture will be held at the Chadds Ford Historical Society’s Barn Visitors Center, 1736 Creek Road, and will be followed by refreshments and conversation.
